Apparatus for feeding cylindrical wrappers



July 6, 1954 Filed June 5, 1950 D. G: ASHCROFT I 3 APPARATUS FOR FEEDINGCYLINDRICAL WRAPP-ERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I ,Qllllll 'zgggnaz InventorDONALD GEORGE ASHCROFT Attorneys July 6, 1954 D. G. ASHCROFT APPARATUSFOR FEEDING CYLINDRICAL WRAPPERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5, 1950lulllllllI-l'lllllillt Il'lll @SQSSQ lnvemo'r DONALD GEORGE ASHCROFT W WAttorneys y 6, 1954 D. G. ASHCROFT APPARATUS.FQR FEEDING CYLINDRICAL.WRAPPERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 lll'll Filed June 5, 1950 lnvemor AttorneysFIG. 5

DONALD GEORGE ASHCROFT 'II'IIIIIIII'IIIII Patentecl July 6, 1954APPARATUS FOR FEEDING CYLINDRIGAL WRAPPEBS .Donald George Ashcroft,Saltcgoats, Scotland, assignor to Imperial Chemicallndu'stries Limited,acorporation of Great Britain ApplicationJ'une. 5, 1950, Serial No.166,165

' Claims priority, application Great Britain July 1, 1949 The presentinvention relates to apparatus for feeding cylindrical wrappers and isparticularly concerned with such apparatus which have horizontalpusher-slats adapted to feed forward a predetermined number ofcylindrical wrappers from a number of pre-arranged vertical rows ofcylindrical wrappers to receiving means.

The object of the present invention is to provide such apparatus withmeans to lower the cylindrical wrappers under control on the returnstroke of the pusher-slats into a compartmented box provided below thehopper of said apparatus and thus to prevent the cylindrical wrappersfrom falling into the compartmented box in an uncontrolled manner and sopreventing the cylindrical wrappers from tending to turn over and lievertically instead of horizontally in the said compartmented box.

According to the present invention apparatus for feeding cylindricalwrappers comprises in association a hopper to receive cylindricalwrappers which have been aligned to lie horizontally, a compartmentedbox below said hopper and adapted to arrange the horizontally alignedcylindrical wrappers in vertical rows separated by thin compartmentwalls, horizontal pusher-slats adapted to feed forward a predeterminednumber of cylindrical wrappers from each vertical row to receivingmeans, vertical suitably spaced fingers provided on each side of eachpusher-slat which fingers are synchronised to rise and fall with themovements of the pusher-slats so that the'fingers rise from their lowerposition only after the pusher-slats have completed their forward traveland when in the raised position hold up the cylindrical wrappers in thevertical row above each pusher-slat in the compartmented box until thepusher-slats are fully withdrawn from their forward position when saidfingers are lowered at a controlled rate to permit the said cylindricalwrappers to take up position in vertical rows in said compartmented boxready to be fed forward by said pusher-slats.

Preferably the said receiving means consists of a spreader box fixed inposition and having di-.

verging substantially horizontal passages.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example withreference to the feeding of cylindrical wrappers for blasting explosivesand to the diagrammatic drawing accompanying the specification whereofFig. 1 is an isometric view and Figs. 2 to 5 are enlarged isometricviews illustrating the pusher-slats and the vertical fingers of theapparatus illustrated in Fig. 1 and showing these in various positions.

1 Claim. (Cl. 226-44) Referring to Fig. 1 the cylindrical wrappers I arefed from the hopper 2 in any known manner into each vertical slot 3 ofthe vertically compartmented box 4. The cylindrical wrappers I lie invertical rows of seven in each of the vertical slots 3 with their axishorizontal and ready to be delivered, four cylindrical wrappers fromeach vertical slot 3, by pusher-slats 5 into a receiving means 6. Thelowest cylindrical wrapper I in each vertical row is supported byvertical fingers I. The pusher-slats 5 are actuated by an air cylinder 8and the vertical fingers l are actuated .by an air cylinder 9. The aircylinders 8 and 9 are interlocked by the control valve system In so asto give such an inter-connection of movement of the pusher-slats 5 andthe vertical fingers I that the vertical fingers I only rise after thepusher-slats 5 have completed their forward movement and fall undercontrol only after the pusher slats have completed their backwardmovement.

Referring to Fig. 2 the four bottom cylindrical wrappers I in eachvertical slot 3 are ready to be pushed by the pusher-slats 5 into thereceiving means 6.

Referring to Fig. 3 the said four cylindrical wrappers I are partiallyin the receiving means 6 and the three top cylindrical wrappers I aresupported by the pusher-slats 5 within the slots 3. The vertical fingers1 are still in their lowest position.

Referring to Fig. 4 the vertical fingers I are in the positionsupporting the said three cylindrical wrappers I in the verticalcompartmented box 4 after the pusher-slats 5 have completed theirforward motion to feed the four cylindrical wrappers I in each slot intothe receiving means 6 and before the withdrawal of the pusher-slats 5.

Referring to Fig. 5 the said three cylindrical wrappers I in each slotare supported only by the vertical fingers I after the withdrawal of thepusher-slats 5. Only after the pusher-slats .5 have completed theirmaximum backward movement do the vertical fingers i fall gradually undercontrol to their lowest position as illustrated in Fig, 2. As thesevertical fingers fall the said three cylindrical wrappers are loweredand by the time the downward movement of the vertical fingers I iscompleted four further cylindrical wrappers have entered each verticalslot from the hopper 2. There are thus once again seven cylindricalwrappers in each vertical slot as illustrated in Fig. 2 and the cycle ofoperations is repeated.

I claim:

Apparatus for feeding parallel horizontal cylindrical objects in apredetermined number of substantially vertical rows comprising a hopperfor holding the objects in horizontal parallel alignment; spacedparallel substantially vertical walls fixed beneath said hopper forreceiving the objects, by gravity, therefrom and arranging the objectshorizontally in substantially vertical rows; horizontally-reciprocablepusher slats in horizontal alignment with said rows; means forreciprocating said slats to push a predetermined number of objects fromeachvertical row into a receiving means upon each excursion of saidslats; at least one pair of substantially vertically-reciprocableobject-supporting fingers in vertical alignment With each of said rowsand spaced apart transversely of a corresponding pusher slat for passageof the latter therebetween; and poweroperated means for reciprocatingsaid fingers in 10 said slats.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,897,072 Parks et al. Feb. 14, 1933 2,345,560 Albertoli Apr.4, 1944

